The traditional game of keno is played with a machine that randomly mixes numbered balls, similar to those used in bingo and lotteries, or via an electronic random number generator for the selection of twenty random numbers. Players use keno cards to select between one and twenty numbers by marking the card and selecting the amount of their wager and the number of draws they want the card to be valid for. Various types of bets are possible. A bet is a prediction by the player of which numbers will be randomly drawn in a particular keno game drawing. To win at keno, a player needs to accurately predict or “catch” a predetermined amount of the numbers randomly drawn in a particular keno game draw known as “spots” and is determined by the game return tables offered by the particular casino and the type of ticket the player bets.
To play the traditional game of keno, the players first bet using individually completed keno cards and then the dealer conducts the random drawing of numbers. The numbers one through eighty are randomly mixed by a machine and selects twenty of the numbers at random. The twenty randomly selected numbers represent the selected possible winning numbers in a particular game and thus dictate which players win and which players lose. Players with winning keno cards redeem their cards and the dealer pays out on the winning cards.
Gaming regulations sometimes restrict casinos to only games that employ cards to determine the outcome of a game and do not allow the casinos to operate games that are otherwise not authorized. However, casinos that are thus restricted still would like to be able to provide a keno-themed game experience to their customers. The present invention allows casinos to provide such an experience within their gaming restrictions through a house-banked card game methodology. Specifically, the present invention substitutes a shuffler and special deck of cards for the machine that mixes numbered balls, or an electronic random number generator that are employed in a traditional keno game.